Crime and Punishment in American History.(Brief Article)

Lawrence Friedman. Basic, $30 (576p) ISBN 0-465-01461-5

This wide-ranging history, full of quirky details and thoughtful analysis, is a valuable synthesis of research tracing the tensions between American liberty and its costs. Following a brief section on the colonial period and the role of religion and ideology in criminal justice, Friedman, a Stanford law professor, explores important changes in the 19th century, such as the evolution of penitentiaries, the professionalization of the police, the explosion of swindles in a newly mobile …